Wind and Rain

We have just had our second day of high winds, which prevents work in the bird colonies. If you spook birds from their nests in high winds they are much more likely to lose a chick or egg than in calm weather. The chicks or eggs can be jostled out of the nest by the wind or the adult takes longer to get back to the nest and a Frigatebirds snatches the uncovered chick or steals nest material. Today I worked on data entry and weeded the catchment pad. The catchment is a basketball court sized slab of concrete that catches rainwater for storage. The weeds grow up through the joints and cracks and need to be removed regularly. There are dozens of Albatross adults and chicks on the pad that are not bothered by your presence until you are very close. So, you are kind of weeding between the albatross while they pay very close attention. You are also within 50 feet or so of the beach so it is a little different than hoeing around almond trees.